Halloween

We dressed up the bike as a fire truck for Halloween and picked the kids up from school in a fire truck bike. The moment I saw the red on the bike, I knew that's what I wanted to do for Halloween. I even bought a little fireman's outfit for my son. Sadly, my son did not share my passion. He wanted to be a lion. So, for Halloween, we had a fire truck sporting a fairy princess and a lion.

Bike Picture

Hey all-
Just wanted to quickly post a picture of the bike - since it is halfway through the challenge and you might be interested in seeing what the bike looks like. So here it is. I'll post an update on what we have been doing in a day or two.

--CFD

Half-way there

I think we're just about half-way in this car-free challenge and so far, going car-free hasn't been a problem. We're taking a little more time to plan our trips and getting more acquainted with our public transportation system, but these are not bad things.

We've taken the bike out to take the kids to buy Halloween costumes, go grocery shopping, take the kids to school, take the kids to church and take the kids to see their god parents. Although we haven't ventured more than a few miles from our house with it, we've used it to travel distances that we normally would have driven.

A photographer from the local paper stopped by this morning to take pictures of my husband carting the kids off to school. It would have been nice if it was warmer out so you could actually see the kids, but it's gotten so cold out that we've been riding around with the rain cover on. I haven't seen the photos, but I can't imagine you can see them at all in their little plastic bubble.

Our Bike

So, my husband said something about posting pictures when he got around to taking them. That could take an eternity. It could take me even longer, so I don't promise such things. All I have to offer are my stick figures. Here's a stick figure of our Dutch bike we're riding around town in. My husband pedals in the back and our children sit up in front. I must say, I like the fact that we can keep an eye on the kids while riding. I also like it that they know they're being watched.

The Money Factor

I think we can all agree that we've seen some pretty high gas prices this year. I just did the math and between January and September this year, we averaged just under $85 a month on gas. That even includes June, where we went the whole month without filling up once. This month, we topped off our tank at $12.75 right before the challenge just about two weeks ago and that has been it. Based on our monthly average, we've saved $72.25 this month. Hey, I'll take that any month!

So far, the challenge has been going very well for us. We've been able to transport ourselves with our bike and public transportation for all destinations within a two mile radius and we've lucked out in getting rides to events that were scheduled before the car-free challenge to destinations over 5 miles away.

I don't think going a month without a car is going to be a problem for us, but I do miss the mobility that driving has to offer. Halloween is coming up and I still haven't picked up costumes for my kids. If I could drive, I'd just hop in a car and go right now. I could be back in an hour with something cute. However, it's night-time. It's dark out. It's also raining. I neither feel the inclination to ride my bike some place or look up bus schedules and figure our where I want to go and how to get there. The costumes will just have to wait.

Cold Ride

It's getting harder and harder to get up in the morning thanks to the changing seasons and shorter days. Consequently, twice this week, I have left the house with one child to catch the bus on time and my husband has wheeled the other one to school. Today, I saw my husband wheeling my daughter to school, wrapped up in a blanket, but looking seriously cold. She was sporting pink cheeks and a pink nose. Cute, but very cold. We think it's time to keep the rain hood strapped on. When it's cold outside, the wind is pretty brutal, especially if you're just sitting there as a passenger.

Lunch Date

My husband took me out for another spin on the Dutch bike today. It was only a short 1 mile trip to grab a bite to eat for lunch, but it was a pretty fall day and the ride was nice. It's too bad that my two kids and I can't all fit as passengers. It would be so nice if my husband could wheel all of us together at the same time. Unfortunately, the weight restrictions are such that only two of us can get a ride at any one time. My husband keeps hoping that I'll just get used to riding my bike, but that seems rather unlikely. We'll first have to buy me a new bike because my current one is in rotten shape, but I'm reluctant to buy a bike right before winter. I"d also have to get used to riding in traffic, which is really the part that I don't like. If I was allowed to ride on sidewalks or there were convenient bike paths with no cars, I'd be game. However, our local laws do not allow adults to ride bikes on sidewalks and our bike paths share the road with cars. For now, I think the only bike riding I'll be doing is in the bucket while my husband carts me around.